Abstract

National regulatory authorities (NRAs) in the liberalised utility markets have a significant role in policy making and policy enforcement. Much of the debate about them has revolved around their independence from Member State governments, yet independence alone is not sufficient to ensure effective regulation across the internal market. Poor co-operation procedures among NRAs, lack of regulatory impact assessment procedures and weak decision-making procedures between an NRA and the Commission may seriously hamper the functioning of the internal market for telecom and electricity. By bringing the NRAs together and establishing a veto rule, the Commission is on the right track concerning the telecom sector. Yet further improvements can be made by setting general EU regulatory principles in close relation with common transparency obligations in NRA decision-making.